TUCSON – The 2025-26 men’s basketball regular season is exactly one month away, but Wildcat Nation got a sneak preview of what’s to come during the Red-Blue Showcase at the McKale Center on Friday night. The event featured a three-point shooting contest between the men’s and women’s basketball squads, a dunk contest which included a star-studded judges panel, and 20-minute scrimmage with the roster broken into red and blue teams. Following the scrimmage, the University of Arizona hosted the Post/Move Afterparty concert in partnership with Dusk, featuring Myles O’Neal, former Beastie Boys and Run DMC member Mix Master Mike, head coach Tommy Lloyd’s alter ego, DJ Tomm-E, and Shaquille O’Neal, aka DJ Diesel.
Three-point contest
The three-point contest featured something new this year, the Arizona Women’s Basketball team. Led by first year head coach Becky Burke, the women’s team had fifth year senior and former Cleveland State guard Mickayla Perdue face off against true freshman Mireia “MJ” Jurado.
On the men’s side, veteran sharpshooter Anthony Dell’Orso went head-to-head against Tucson-native Evan Nelson, who is back in the Old Pueblo for his final season of college hoops. Perdue defeated Jurado 13-11 to advance to the finals, while Dell’Orso advanced on the men’s side. In the finals, Anthony Dell’Orso edged out Mickayla Perdue 19-18 to take home the three-point contest title.
Dunk contest
Moving on to the dunk contest, Dwayne Aristode, Mawut Mabil, Addison Arnold, and Koa Peat took part in the competition. Each player had two rounds of dunks that counted towards their first round score, with the top two scorers advancing to the finals. Addison Arnold had the best dunk of night, when he put four-time Super Bowl champion Rob Gronkowski on a poster while dunking a football. Koa Peat had a smooth first dunk, earning him 43 points, but could not land his second dunk, allowing Aristode and Arnold to advance.
Neither Dwayne Aristode or Addison Arnold landed either of their championship round dunks, so naturally, Gronk came off the judges bench and dunked over a miniature remote control Range Rover for the dunk contest title.
Red-Blue Scrimmage
The scrimmage featured two 10-minute periods, with assistant coaches and players divided equally in half. Team Blue’s starting five featured the following: Bryce James, Koa Peat, Motiejus Krivas, Anthony Dell’Orso, and Jaden Bradley. The starting five for Team Red included: Dwayne Aristode, Ivan Karchenkov, Brayden Burries, Evan Nelson, and Tobe Awaka.
It was all Team Blue in the first half. Bryce James opened up the scrimmage with a pretty three-point jumper, while Jaden Bradley scored a game-high nine points in the first half, giving Team Blue a 25-15 advantage over Team Red at halftime. Team Blue ended the half connecting on all five of its final field goals, while also not allowing a Team Red bucket for the last 2:59 of the period.
Team Blue had an unexpected addition to start the second half, when Rob Gronkowski came out as “Rocky Gronkstone” from Buffalo State Penitentiary. “Gronkstone” went 0-3 from three-point range and picked up two technical fouls before getting ejected two minutes into the second half.
From there, Team Red was able to close the gap, largely in part due to the play of true freshman Brayden Burries. Burries exploded for 17 points, shooting 6-7 from the field, including 3-4 from deep, including a game-winning shot and steal to secure a 45-44 victory for Team Red. Burries finished the night with a team-high 22 points on 7-11 from the field, 4-7 from deep, five rebounds, two assists, and a steal in 20 minutes.
Fellow true freshmen Dwayne Aristode and Ivan Kharchenkov also played well for Team Red, finishing with 12 points on 4-5 shooting and nine points on 3-8 shooting, respectively.
Veteran point guard Jaden Bradley appears to already be in midseason form, ending the night with 12 points on 5-7 shooting, along with four assists, for Team Blue. Veterans Anthony Dell’Orso, who had 10 points (4-5 FG, 2-2 3FG), five rebounds, and Mo Krivas, who finished with seven points and five rebounds, played well for Team Blue, while freshman Koa Peat posted nine points, three rebounds, a block, and a steal, while shooting 4-10 from the field.
Post/Move Afterparty Concert
The Post/Move Afterparty concert featured Myles O’Neal, DJ and son of headliner Shaquille O’Neal, former Beastie Boys and Run DMC member Mix Master Mike, head coach Tommy Lloyd’s alter ego, DJ Tomm-E, and Shaquille O’Neal, aka DJ Diesel.
Tommy Lloyd, who is an avid Beastie Boys fan, was on stage with Mix Master Mike for the duration of his set, and even tried his hand spinning some records and scratching some vinyl, while chanting his patented “BTFD” and “Tucson, what’s good?” slogans at the crowd on Bear Down Field.
The Pride of Arizona Pep Band also performed a couple of charts, including “Bear Down Arizona” before Shaq arrived.
Shaq did a great job getting fans energized, chanting things like, “If you hate Arizona State, make some noise. If you hate UCLA, make some noise.” Once his performance was up and running, Tommy Lloyd and the men’s basketball team even joined him on stage.
Up next, the Wildcats host Division I opponent Saint Mary’s in an exhibition match on Saturday, October 18, at 2:00 PM at the McKale Center. The regular season tips off on Monday, November 3, against defending national champs Florida in Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena.
[…] has dazzled at all three levels, showing off his dynamic scoring from anywhere on the court. In the Red-Blue Showcase, Burries had a team-high 22 points on 7-11 shooting, including 4-7 from beyond the arc, including a […]